Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!

Well Done Charlotte

Congratulations to Charlotte Smith, a member of the Aberdeenshire North  Activ-8 Tennis Squad and Peterhead Tennis Club who was voted U12  player of the tournament at the recent  Activ-8 Inter Area Tournament held at Westburn Tennis Centre in Aberdeen.

This annual tournament involves area squads of players from Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Highland, Moray and Tayside.

The player of the tournament (voted for by each of the coaches of the participating squads) goes to the player who has shown enthusiasm, determination, commitment and fair play, not necessarily the best overall player.

Happy Days At Deveronvale FC!

Congratulations to Deveronvale Football Club who reached Tennent’s Scottish Cup Third Round for the first time in the club’s history, losing 6-0 to First Division side Ayr United, after a great victory v. Spartans in the second round.

The team won the Tennent’s Scottish Qualifying Cup (North) for the first time in 50 years, beating Buckie Thistle 5-0 in the final in October.

The team are currently Highland League leaders, and hopefully come May will still be in contention for their first ever league title!

Sharing Expertise & Experience

Report on Netball Session for Activ-8 Netball Lottery Squads

As a result of the discussions which took place at the launch of the Activ-8 Coaching Strategy concerning the value of sharing expertise of coaches across sports, netball decided to ask an athletics coach to deliver a session on sprint technique to the players of the Lottery Squads at U15 and U17 level.

The session took place with all the players represented along with the six coaching personnel. The players and coaches alike found the session to be very enjoyable and worthwhile. The players were able to focus on their individual technique and relate it to their own specific role as players on court whilst the coaches gained valuable experience of gathering information for future development as well as being able to observe the players action without the pressure of coaching.

This is the second time that netball have asked an athletics coach to work with the squad players on specific technical detail and found the rewards invaluable. In addition a Sports Psychologist has worked with players to improve mental preparation in competition and that was revolutionary with lasting performance criteria being produced. Also it allowed the players to finally overcome a hoodoo held for years which prevented Aberdeen beating Glasgow!

As well as the motivational boost that a session with a colleague from another sport allows for the coaches, the added knowledge which players gain can enhance their performance beyond previous limits.

I would encourage all coaches to think beyond the technical elements of their own sport and look for generic issues common to a variety of sports which can make a difference to improving performance.                                          

 Jill Yule, Netball Coach & Development Officer

Thanks Jill - All sports can learn from other sports and all coaches can learn from other coaches, whether it be in the area of technique, approach, preparation, team dynamics, mental skills, conditioning or any other area. Quality coaching is absolutely critical to the development of the athlete and “quality coaches” constantly challenge existing practices and are receptive to new ideas. There is a strong bank of coaching talent in the Grampian Area and, working together, we can increase the quality and quantity of coaching expertise available to our young athletes.                      

Phil Reid, Grampian Institute of Sport Manager

(Reproduced from Grampian Institute of Sport Newsletter, December 2001)

Grant Applications Recently Approved

(Nov 2001 & Jan 2002)

New Opportunities Funding (NOF) –

Sport & PE In Schools

It is anticipated that via the above lottery funding, Aberdeenshire should be due around two and a half million pounds. Full details have not yet been finalised, but NOF will be circulating the guidelines and criteria around March 2002 (following a consultation exercise last Autumn). 

The first strand of the funding will be for refurbishing existing, and building new indoor and outdoor sports facilities for school and community use.

For Aberdeenshire, it is proposed that a multi agency team (with Aberdeenshire Council as the lead agency) will be formed in the next few months to prioritise projects and to forward them to NOF for consideration. Rod Stone, Head of Lifelong Learning and Recreation for Aberdeenshire Council has approved in principal (yet to be confirmed) that the multi agency team be lead by a member(s) of the Sports Development team, who will be able to assist interested parties in making their application for project funding.

Aberdeenshire Sports Council will be represented on the team and sports clubs will have an opportunity to comment via the Sports Council. It should be possible for the proposed portfolio of projects to be circulated to affiliated clubs.

Clubs and community groups with links to schools could benefit from this funding (not only school sites) and affiliated clubs/organisations are urged to try to highlight suitable projects, and to make others aware of the funding opportunities. In the first instance contact Mike Seed on 01261 813383 to discuss your proposals and register an interest in your project going forward to the multi agency team for consideration.

NB Other parts of this funding include –

•     Building or refurbishing outdoor adventure facilities . . .

•     Supporting facilities and programmes designed to promote the role of sport in diverting young people away from criminal activity or behaviours likely to lead to this type of activity . . .

•     Supporting out of school hours programmes based on school facilities and organised through schools which offer children and young people a wide range of sporting and cultural activities, including outdoor education, adventure and other challenging activities . . .

NOF guidelines and criteria have still to be finalised for these areas. We’ll keep you informed!

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